<p>Last night my son and I had a discussion regarding children of famous, great athletes/artists/writers; have there been any children of truly greats, that were also considered to be in that category?
We could name several acting families,(Redgrave,Fonda, Huston, Quinn) so are not considering actors, it seems easier for children of stars to get that all important first break.
In the sports realm there are quite a few families that have brothers/ uncles/cousins/ even parents and children in Major League sports, but few real stars at that level, (one exception we could think of-Griffey Sr. and Jr.)
Musicians seem to be another category as well, in which the children have talent and also opportunity,though the only ones we could come up with late last night-Marsalis and Bach.
Writers and visual artists we could think of no examples. The closest being Jean Renoir, great film maker, grandson I believe of Renoir the Impressionist painter.
Is it that hard to achieve in the shadow of greatness, is greatness that rare, are the children purposely choosing non-competing fields ?</p>
<p>In sports, Archie Manning was father to both Peyton and Eli Manning ( and according to the Onion Donavan McNabe). While never winning a Super Bowl, Archie Manning was a pretty good quarterback.</p>
<p>In literature there is Kingsley Amis and Martin Amis.</p>
<p>In art there is Alexander Calder, Sr and Alexander Calder, Jr. There is also N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth and Jamie Wyeth.</p>
<p>And Jean Renoir is Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s son, not grandson.</p>
<p>I forgot, there are actually three Alexander Calders. Grandfather did all the sculpture on the Philadelphia city hall, including the statue of William Penn that stands on the dome. His son did monumental public sculpture, mostly in Philadelphia and at the Panama-Pacific Expo of 1915. Then there is Alexander Calder who is best known for his mobiles.</p>
<p>In literature(although whether good or bad is up to opinion) there is Jonathon, Faye Kellerman and their son, Jesse/ Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark/ Stephen and Tabitha King and their sons Owen and Joe Hill.</p>
<p>In reading one of the authors website, they were quoted as saying “being my son has closed more doors than open them for …”</p>
<p>there are quite a few sports multi-generational families … although less than I would expect … and very little correlation to mega-star status … just a few </p>
<p>Hockey
- The Howes … Gordie and multi-sons
- The Hulls … Bobby and Brett … both super stars</p>
<p>Baseball
- The Alous … 3 brothers (who literally played outfield together for the SF Giants in the early 60s a bunch of games) and Felipe’s son Mosies
- The Griffeys
- The Boones … 3 generations
- The Franconas … 2 generations
- Yogi Berra and his son
- Gary Mathews and Gary Jr.</p>
<p>Football
- The Mannings
- Tony Dorsett and Tony Jr.
- Nate Newton (huge O-lineman) and his son (small UofTexas running back)</p>
<p>Basketball
- Karl Malone and his daughter who I believe plays in the WNBA
- Kiki Vandeweigh (sp?) and his Dad</p>
<p>There are a bunch … but not as many as I would expect</p>
<p>The Wyeths in Art.</p>
<p>NC Wyeth, illustrator, father of Andrew Wyeth, Grandpa of Jamie Wyeth.
[N.C</a>. Wyeth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N.C._Wyeth]N.C”>N. C. Wyeth - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Andrew Wyeth, painter
[Andrew</a> Wyeth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wyeth]Andrew”>Andrew Wyeth - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Jamie Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth’s son, painter
[Jamie</a> Wyeth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Wyeth]Jamie”>Jamie Wyeth - Wikipedia) This article refers to Carolyn Wyeth, Jamie’s Aunt, also an artist, who taught Jamie.</p>
<p>The Tsutakawas from Seattle are a prominent art family- George and Gerry were/are primarily sculptors, Deems & Marcus are musicians & teachers ( the orchestra Marcus conducts at Garfield high school, has won international and national awards for years) Mayami is a writer.
[The</a> Seattle Times: Gerard Tsutakawa installs “Thunderbolt”](<a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/localnews2008329205/4.html]The”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/localnews2008329205/4.html)</p>
<p>What about cross-genres? Sometimes it’s hard to follow in a famous parent’s footsteps, but some take different paths. </p>
<p>Ephram Zimbalist - musician - was father of two actors, Stephanie and Ephram, Jr.</p>
<p>Richard Simon - publisher - father of 3 musicians, including Carly - pop singer; Joanna - opera singer, and Lucy - composer. Carly Simon and James Taylor’s kids are musicians, too, although I don’t know how famous.</p>
<p>I do think money and “connections” play a part, but carry no guarantees. They open doors, but don’t necessarily keep them open.</p>
<p>Talent runs in families but genius is rare in part because there will be regression to the mean.</p>
<p>I can think of a few others in football
[Pacific</a> NW | Faith and each other come before sports in the talented Tuiasosopo family | Seattle Times Newspaper](<a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2008129409_pacificptuis24.html]Pacific”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2008129409_pacificptuis24.html)
and I am also pretty sure I have read something about Sonny Sixkillers son as a rising star in high school/college ball.</p>
<p>Families raise their kids with certain interests and values, it is natural that children of artists or carpenters will be exposed to those fields while young more so than if their parents were medical drs or engineers.</p>
<p>Natural inclination combined with exposure leads some to explore those paths, but others may resist and go a completely different way.</p>
<p>I also don’t think fame= talent in all or even most cases.</p>
<p>Woody Guthrie / Arlo Guthrie
Norah Jones / Ravi Shankar
John Lennon-Yoko Ono / Sean Lennon
Nat King Cole / Natalie Cole
Elvis Presley / Lisa Marie Presley
Johnny Cash / Rosanne Cash
Cissy Houston / Whitney Houston
etc.</p>
<p>(I understand you don’t want to include actors, but let’s keep in mind the Barrymores 
)</p>
<p>The Barrymores, the Hustons, the Redgraves…Bridges, Fondas, Sheen’s, Douglas, Carradines… ( going back farther, Gish & Fairbanks)</p>
<p>Charles Willson Peale, whose paintings included Washington, Jefferson, Hancock, & Hamilton, and his many sons and daughters:</p>
<p>[The</a> Peale Family: Creation of an American Legacy, 1770-1870](<a href=“http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/1aa/1aa124.htm]The”>The Peale Family: Creation of an American Legacy, 1770-1870)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Violinist Ephrem, Sr. was father to actor Ephrem, Jr. and grandfather to Stephanie. :)</p>
<p>jacdad, you’re right, there are dozens of examples in the acting community. </p>
<p>I agree that the Wyeths, and maybe the Calders, are probably the best examples in the art world. Something about PA, perhaps. </p>
<p>In hockey, Brett Hull was as big a star as Bobby, but Gordie Howe’s sons, although they made it to the NHL, were nowhere near the stars that their dad was. I suppose you could consider any player who reaches the NHL a star, and in that case, there are many sons, nephews, cousins, brothers playing in the league. Ray Bourque, who was a true superstar, has two sons who have been drafted by NHL teams. Both are still young but one, in particular, is thought to be as talented as his dad. </p>
<p>In baseball, I’d add Mel and Todd Stottlemyre. And the Alomars.</p>
<p>In the music world, Judy Garland and Liza Minelli. I’d also say the Wainwright family would be a good example. Loudon Wainwright and Kate McGarrigle were famous folk-singers/songwriters and their son Rufus is a very successful and famous singer. Daughter, Martha, also a singer/songwriter is less well-known but still very successful.</p>
<p>In cross-overs, how about Paul McCartney and his daughter, Stella, a famous designer.</p>
<p>I thought of another example in music
Eddie Vedder ( lead singer of Pearl Jam) , didn’t know a musician friend of the family was his father, until after his fathers death :(, not as well known as Eddie, but similar I have heard in features and vocal capacity ( if not in musical style)</p>
<p>In the ballet world - Peter Martins and his son Nilas Martins.</p>
<p>Long ago - J.S. Bach and his sons Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach</p>
<p>Famous parents who had little contact with their (now famous) offspring would include
Jon Voight and Angelina Joie
Steven Tyler and Liv Tyler
Ravi Shankar and Norah Jones</p>
<p>Which does bring up an interesting point: did being raised separately from famous parents give a stronger self-concept to the children? Does the famous one tend to be far more neglectful or undependable as a parent because of the many demands outside the family? It does seem to breed more problem kids than successful ones.</p>
<p>James and Livingston Taylor!</p>
<p>Alice and Rebecca Walker are both acclaimed authors.</p>